Chart of the Week: Here’s why HK’s limited hospital authority budget could be a problem

It’s already struggling to meet existing demands.

While Hong Kong’s 2016-2017 budget will be largely positive for Hong Kong’s healthcare sector, a key downside has been the slashing of funds channeled for the Hospital Authority.

According to BMI Research, the hospital authority is already struggling to meet existing demands for medical services, and will necessitate it to take a more conservative approach.

As a result, BMI said this would be detrimental to drugmakers seeking to list high-value medicines on the country’s formulary.

“Hong Kong will continue to hold opportunities for pharmaceutical firms despite its relatively small aggregate market size,” BMI Research said.

Meanwhile, disease prevention programs continue to receive the lion’s share of resources, while other areas such as curative care are also seeing their funding increase by 13%.

“According to the budget description, funds accorded to the curative care segment will be channelled towards providing services to patients with tuberculosis, respiratory conditions or HIV,” BMI Research said.